A brand new Kickstarter venture launched Tuesday claims to breathe contemporary life into Apple’s discontinued Contact Bar idea, providing a extra versatile and customizable answer for each Mac and Home windows customers. Flexbar, developed by Hong Kong startup Eniac Know-how, reimagines the controversial MacBook Professional characteristic as a standalone accent that guarantees to ship on the Contact Bar’s authentic potential.
“The discontinuation of the unique Contact Bar didn’t imply the idea was flawed — it merely wasn’t taken far sufficient to achieve its full [potential],” the Eniac staff mentioned. “There’s one thing plain [about the idea]: the potential for a customizable, adaptive interface that would streamline workflows was immense. We determined to step in.”
Flexbar contact bar system by Eniac Know-how seeks pledges on Kickstarter
The upcoming Flexbar, now in search of crowdfunding on Kickstarter, represents an fascinating evolution of Apple’s discontinued Contact Bar idea. It seeks to “streamline and customise interactions with software program, video games and streaming” for Mac and Home windows customers by means of a USB-C-connected strip with an OLED display screen.
The Flexbar may supply the pliability and customization many customers felt was lacking from the unique MacBook Professional characteristic. By making the system platform-agnostic and offering higher management over its performance, Eniac might achieve profitable over Contact Bar fanatics and skeptics alike. (In case you by no means used Apple’s {hardware} innovation, learn Cult of Mac’s story for extra perception into the way it labored: High 40 suggestions that make you’re keen on the Contact Bar.)
10-inch touchscreen
The brand new Flexbar system incorporates a 10-inch 2K AMOLED touchscreen show (2170 x 60 pixels) housed in an aluminum alloy body measuring 275 x 15 x 8.35 mm, based on the Kickstarter marketing campaign. In contrast to Apple’s built-in Contact Bar, which was completely mounted to MacBook Professional keyboards, the Flexbar will be positioned horizontally or vertically to swimsuit totally different workflows. The system connects by way of USB-C and contains options its predecessor by no means supplied, reminiscent of haptic suggestions by means of a built-in motor and compatibility with Home windows PCs, iPads and iPhones.
Eniac Know-how, a staff of 4 engineers — with no connection to the Forties-era Digital Numerical Integrator and Pc (ENIAC) laptop — has designed the Flexbar with customization in thoughts. The corporate is creating a Flexbar Designer app that enables customers to personalize their management layouts and capabilities. Moreover, the corporate plans to launch API help for builders and launch a plugin market in Q2 2025, probably increasing the system’s capabilities past what Apple’s Contact Bar ever achieved.
The {hardware} specs embrace non-slip silicone pads for stability and a 500mAh (5 volt) battery. The complete unit weighs simply 71.7 grams and comes with an aluminum magnetic stand for improved ergonomics. Every bundle features a 2-meter USB-C cable for connectivity.
Watch Eniac’s video about Flexbar:
Software program nonetheless iffy
Whereas the {hardware} improvement seems to be full, the software program aspect seems to stay a piece in progress. The Home windows model of the Flexbar Designer software is at present accessible in alpha type, with the macOS model nonetheless beneath improvement with no specified launch date. Regardless of these software program uncertainties, the venture has already exceeded its preliminary fundraising objective on Kickstarter.
Early backers can safe a Flexbar for $119, a big low cost from the deliberate retail value of $179. The Kickstarter marketing campaign runs till January 2, 2025, with delivery anticipated to start in February 2025. Nevertheless, as with all crowdfunding campaigns, potential backers ought to be aware that there are not any ensures concerning the ultimate supply timeline or characteristic set. Notably, the brand new marketing campaign is already properly over its fundraising objective with 29 days left to go.
Purchase from: Kickstarter
